Mercer’s own headlines the 2022 First Pitch Classic

Kyle Lewis speaks at the 2022 First Pitch Classic

The 13th annual First Pitch Classic commemorating the Mercer Bears 2022 baseball season took place last night.

Every year, a high-profile guest headlines the event giving words of wisdom to the athletes and those in attendance. But this year, it was Mercer’s own Kyle Lewis.

The night began with an autograph session, followed by dinner and a speech from Lewis. The proceeds from the event go towards Mercer baseball’s program.

Lewis is the most decorated athlete in Mercer history and left Mercer in 2016 and was drafted 11th overall by the Seattle Mariners, becoming the highest overall draft pick in Mercer and Southern Conference history.

Lewis went on to win the AL Rookie of the year in 2020.

Now, his career comes back full circle to Mercer, and he has advice for those looking to follow in his footsteps.

“Make the best version you can be. Just pay attention to every rep and every detail. The amount of reps you take is important, but the quality of them is more important, and I think that’s where a lot of people can push themselves over the edge is in the quality of the reps. And that’s something that takes a long time to learn. You know how many reps you may waste or just kind of go through the motions, so that’s definitely something,” said Lewis.

The Bears look to use Lewis’s words of wisdom and kick off their season with a home-opening series against Eastern Kentucky from February 18th to the 20th.